Observations and provocations from The Times' Opinion staff

Anders Behring Breivik got his ammo ... here

July 29, 2011 | 1:08
pm

As it turns out. Anders Behring Breivik decided to "buy American" for the ammo he used to allegedly kill 78 people in Norway.

He wrote in his 1,500-page manifesto about going to a U.S. supplier to buy 10 30-round clips for his .223-caliber rifle, according to the Norwegian newspaper Aftenpost. In Norway, you can't buy a hunting rifle clip with more than three bullets; Breivik wrote that although he could have bought the larger clips from Sweden, they would have cost him a lot more than the $550 he did end up spending to purchase the 10 clips from the U.S. supplier. The math works out to under two bucks a bullet.

New York Democratic Rep. Carolyn McCarthy has already asked Congress to restrict the size of high-capacity clips. Her husband was shot to death and her son severely wounded in 1993 rampage aboard a Long Island Railway train by a gunman who carried four 15-round clips.

"There should be a lot of shame" attached to Breivik's purchase, McCarthy told Politico. "We're sending a death warrant to other parts of the world. Unfortunately now, internationally, it's known that you can get here, buy your guys, buy your large magazines, and you’re not going to have any problem.’’

So, for extra credit: What other notorious mail-order arms/ammo purchase comes to mind?

Anyone? Anyone?

Yes, you in the third row –-

Right. Lee Harvey Oswald. About eight months before the JFK assassination in Dallas, Oswald ordered what's become known as the Mannlicher-Carcano. The rifle was advertised as an Italian carbine in the February issue of American Rifleman magazine in an ad headlined "Too Late For Hunting Season --Klein's Loss Is Your Gain." With the telescopic sight attached, it cost Oswald $19.95, plus $1.50 postage and handling.